RALEIGH, N.C. -Getting late, early flight, no more creativity left. So why am I blogging and not sleeping? I don’t really know.
When in Raleigh, do as the Raleighans do, and grab a seat at the above restaurant – Ole Time BBQ. You will thank me for this. Old-school BBQ, served by longtime locals, with all the trimmings. I discovered a delicious concoction today, at lunch, called hush puppies. Oh my god. Basically, it’s just fried dough, with a slightly sweet taste. I could have eaten about five baskets of them, but I stopped at one.

Then, in the media room before the game, there was more UN believable pulled pork. All you could eat for eight bucks. I’d weigh 500 pounds if I covered the Hurricanes.

About tonight’s game: a good enough result for the Burgundy and Blue. I think the result was probably what it should have been. Carolina was just a little bit better in the key areas, with Cam Ward having a very excellent night in net.

The Avs put 35 shots on him, had some good chances, but didn’t quite have that extra ounce of “desperation” to their game, which partially accounts for only one goal going in. Still, that goal got them a point in the standings, and that’s still a good thing for a banged up team on the road.

I thought Craig Anderson was good – and maybe a bit fortunate. At least one post was hit, the Canes just missed on a couple of bunnies, etc. But he was solid. Is he going to play tomorrow night in Tampa?

We won’t know til morning. Joe Sacco said he was going to think about it on the plane ride over and then decide. My hunch? Andy will play again. But I’m not at all overly confident of that prediction. I think Andy still needs a bit of maintenance for his recent injuries, and that could be enough to convince Sacco to let him rest until Tuesday.

How did the new guy, Tomas Fleischmann, look? He was OK. Nothing spectacular – one shot on net in 16:27, but an even plus-minus and pretty responsible with the puck.

I thought the Avs played a perfectly respectable game overall tonight, but one guy – Paul Stastny – needs to be better. With Chris Stewart, TJ Galiardi and Peter Mueller out, Stastny needs to bring it every night. Tonight was his second straight pointless night, and the Avs need more than that.

It’s unfortunate that newcomer Matt Hunwick was a minus-2 in a 2-1 game, but he was. I don’t think that really reflected his play, though. He made a lot of nice little plays with the puck and I think he’s going to be a solid player for this team.

Here is some parting video from the coach on tonight. Good night, time to dream of that pulled pork at Ole Time.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.